pennyspoetryfandomcom-20200214-history
Forceythe Willson
Byron Forceythe Willson (April 10, 1837 - February 2, 1867) was an American poet. Life Family, youth, education Willson was born April 10, 1837 in Little Genesee, Allegany County, New York. He was the eldest son of Ann Colvin (Ennis) and Hiram Willson. (His brother, Augustus E. Willson, would become a governor of Kentucky.) Though his parents addressed him as "Byron," he developed a dislike for the name, and eventually dropped it during his early manhood.John James Piatt, "Forceythe Willson", The Atlantic Monthly 35:209 (March 1875), 340–352. Web, 2007-09-07. In 1846, his father loaded the family and their belongings on a raft and floated down the Allegany and Ohio Rivers to Maysville, Kentucky. A year later, the family moved again, this time to Covington, Kentucky, where they lived for six years, before removing to New Albany, Indiana. This would be the last move of Hiram Willson's life. He died in 1859, and was preceded in death by his wife in 1853. Early adulthood Willson's father had been a Unitarian and his mother was a Seventh Day Baptist, but Forceythe developed his own unique beliefs about spirituality. He believed that the living could communicate with the dead, and that he was a medium through which this could be accomplished. He claimed to have had a conversation with his late father some years after his death. He also maintained that he was clairvoyant, and was able to divine the contents of unopened letters, as well as some information about their authors, by placing the envelope to his forehead. In 1863, Willson married Elisabeth Conwell Smith, a poet from New Albany, Indiana. She died the following year, after the loss of their baby. Both Elisabeth, and the child are buried in Laurel, Indiana. From that time until his own death, many who were with him observed him having conversations with the spirit of his dead wife. Shortly following her death, he told a friend "It has left me neither afflicted nor bereaved... And strangest of yet all, the blessed Presence is at times so plain that I can scarcely believe the tender tie of her embodiment is broken." Career Willson attended Antioch College in Ohio and Harvard University but was prevented from finishing his degree by the onset of tuberculosis. Instead, he became an editorial writer for the Louisville Journal (later part of the Louisville Courier-Journal.) His missives often defended the Union cause in the American Civil War. He also published some of his early poetry in the Journal, including his most famous work, "The Old Sergeant," which was based on a true account. In 1864, Willson moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to oversee the education of his brother Augustus. On a return trip to New Albany, he was stricken with a hemorrhage of the lung. Though he eventually recovered enough to make the return trip, he died February 2, 1867. Publications *''Carrier's Address of the Louisville Journal, January 1, 1863''. Louisville, KY: Prentice, Henderson & Osborne, 1862. ** also published as The Old Sergeant: Being the carrier's very humble offering, January 1, 1863. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1866. ** The Old Sergeant. New York: Historical Publishing, 1866. *''The Old Sergeant, and other poems. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. ''Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Forceythe Willson, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 27, 2014. See also *List of U.S. poets References Notes External links ;Poems *Forceythe Willson profile & poem ("Diana of the Hunt") at the Academy of American Poets *Forceythe Willson in An American Anthology, 1787-1900: ""The Old Sergeant", from "In State" ;Books *Forceythe Willson at Amazon.com ;About *Forceythe Willson at the American Literary Blog *Forceythe Willson in the Atlantic Monthly, 1875. Category:1837 births Category:1867 deaths Category:19th-century poets Category:American poets Category:English-language poets Category:Harvard University alumni Category:People from New York Category:Writers from New York Category:Writers from Kentucky